


3 Oct 11

by cold_flame



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Healing, Overcoming Trauma, implied Ed/Winry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24780487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cold_flame/pseuds/cold_flame
Summary: a mini series about the importance of this date. Each chapter is a different perspective.
Relationships: Edward Elric & Pinako Rockbell, Edward Elric & Winry Rockbell
Kudos: 2





	1. Shackles

" _From now on, you shall be known as Fullmetal."_

Those words still rang in his ears like a church bell. Fullmetal. Fullmetal Alchemist. That was his state alchemist name.

State alchemist. He fished out the pocket watch from his pocket. It was shiny and silver with the Amestris symbol on it. It was a nice watch. It was hard to believe that such a simple item could give him so much power. With this watch, he was practically chained to the military. But, why? Why did he go to all of the trouble? Why did he take away his own freedom?

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the shiny suit of armor sitting on the other side of the room, it's eyes dark, as if it were asleep. But he knew better. He knew that the soul inside that armor would never sleep…not til it reunited with it's body. That was the reason why'd he signed away his life.

For the sake of that suit of armor.

Little did anybody know, that intimidating suit of armor just happened to house the soul of a kind-hearted 11 year old boy. His brother. His brother was in that armor now. All because of him. Because of his own selfishness and arrogance, his younger brother was now unable to eat, sleep, cry, or feel anything.

Because of him, his brother was caught in a hollow metal prison, unable to get out. And the worst part was, Al didn't blame him. Al was too humble. It killed him inside every time his brother talked to him and sparred with him the same as they did when they were children. It killed him inside that his brother still loved him, even after what he was condemned to.

The only way he could even think of atoning for his sin was to give up his independence. If Al had to live in a prison, then dammit, so would he. His brother would not be the only one to suffer. He stared at the watch, his shackles. They were unbreakable. The only way to remove them was with the key. And as far as he knew, that key could be unattainable.

His brother's body. That was the answer to everything. He stared at his brother's still form as the train started moving.

Even if his shackles were somehow removed, where would they go? They didn't have a home anymore. He found himself staring at the horizon, in the direction of where their house used to be. It was gone now. They'd made sure of that. They'd watched it burn to the ground along with every possession they'd owned. Winry had cried for it.

Winry.

He'd hurt her too. He truly was unforgivable. The tears running down her face…it was still fresh in his mind. He really shouldn't be thinking about it so much. It would only slow him down. But…he didn't want to forget, because at the same time, it was pushing him forward. He stared at the watch, the silver glinting in the moonlight. He used alchemy to turn his index finger into a small knife. He quietly and efficiently carved the figures into the silver plating, making sure every curve was sharp and readable.

Once he was finished, he smiled at the finished metal bitterly. His shackles had just been tightened. Every day, he would look at this, and remind himself that he was still bonded. And that bond would never break until they achieved their goal. The message to himself to keep moving forward, no matter what.

_Don't forget._

_3 Oct 11_


	2. Betrayal

She didn't know what to think when she opened it. It's safe to say she most likely wasn't thinking at all because otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the screwdriver and propped open the silver watch sitting in front of her on the workbench. She stared at the contraption in front of her, horror and disgust spreading through her body like a fast-moving virus. Her legs, suddenly becoming heavy, fell to the ground from under her. She could only just faintly hear the girl next to her speaking to her as the memories rushed back.

_A tall house. It was hot. So very hot. She felt as if she could hear the soul of Trisha Elric screaming as the structure was consumed by the raging, orange monster in front of her. The two young boys in front of her, one who no longer had the body of one, and the other who, despite his small stature, seemed very old, stood in front of the house, unaffected. The sight of it alone caused her to cry, not just for herself and all the changes, but for them, and what they had to lose. She felt as if they were so far out of her reach now, and that terrified her. The older of the two, his red coat blowing in the wind, bright and unmistakable, just like the flames in front of him, gave her a slight smile and gently scolded her for crying. This only served to tears come down faster as she stared straight into his golden irises and saw all the pain carefully hidden beneath him. He was so broken, and though she fixed him physically, she was helpless with what she couldn't see._

_**Please don't leave me.** _ _These were the thoughts repeatedly swirling through her mind as she watched the backs of her 2 dearest friends get farther away until they were out of sight. She clutched her chest in pain and whispered "Come home soon", hoping the wind would carry her message and that one day, she would see them again._

"Winry?" Paninya, who was now looking at her with concern etched in her face, asked. "What's that mean?" she pointed to the inscription, "Why are you crying?"

Paying her no mind, Winry slowly stood up, her legs shaky. "I have to find Ed," she said abruptly, ignoring the other girl calling after her as she left the room.

* * *

She never forgot about that day. The day she stepped out of line, the look of betrayal and anger that shined in his eyes when she approached him with his watch, guilt written all over her face. He's long forgiven her since then, but she never could bring herself to do the same. She always keeps it in the back of her mind so that she'll never make the same mistake again. So when Al asks why she always stiffens up when she sees the watch, she chokes back her tears and forces a smile, pretending she has no idea what he's talking about. Because she made a promise, and she'll be damned if she breaks his trust again.

To never tell anyone else their dirty little secret.

The inscription on that watch.

_Don't forget_

_3\. Oct. 11_


	3. Rebuild

She knew he wasn't human. She couldn't explain how she knew, but it was a hunch. And her hunches were usually not wrong. He had been her drinking buddy when she had barely been 25, and yet, even now, almost 30 years later, he hadn't changed. Not even so much as a single gray hair or wrinkle. Still just as golden and strange as if not even a day had passed. And then came Trisha. Gentle and beautiful, Pinako began to think of her as a daughter. She wasn't too much younger than her own son and his wife. He wasn't human. Pinako knew that much. But that didn't stop him from living like one.

Trisha's pregnancy had been unexpected. It became the biggest scandal of the small town, as they hadn't been married at the time. But she had always been a headstrong girl. Not letting a single whispered remark bother her.

The oldest boy was born only a few months after her own granddaughter. The same strange golden features as his father, but with much softer edges. The minute he came out of Trisha screaming like he came straight from Hell itself, Pinako knew he would be a troublesome one. The second child was much quieter, and had more physical resemblance to Trisha, but Pinako wasn't fooled. If he had any of that same curiosity his parents did, he would be a handful too.

Only two years after that was their little family shattered. Hohenheim disappeared one morning with nothing but the clothes on his back and a suitcase in hand. She had assumed that perhaps maybe him and Trisha had a fight. They both were rather headstrong, so it was only natural. But as weeks passed by, with Trisha and the boys going about their days like normal, and no sign of their father, she got a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Where's Hohenheim?"

"Hopefully somewhere safe," she answered cryptically. And that's all she would say. If it wasn't for the wistful looks to the distance, Pinako could've easily forgotten he existed at all.

Only a year afterwards did the epidemic hit. The same epidemic that took Trisha's life.

"Granny Pinako!" she heard an anxious scream. She immediately dropped the metal leg she'd been working on and ran to the room, and it was there she met the two boys, both of them terrified and crying.

She bent down to their level and grabbed their shoulders.

"What is it?!" she demanded, "What happened?"

Both boys were shaking, unable to speak. Ed looked green around the face, but it was Al who managed to speak up.

"It's Mom," he choked out.

She gasped and ran out the door.

The sight of vibrant, youthful Trisha looking so pale and ghastly is not one she'd soon forget. It had only been a few weeks since the incident and it was like her very soul had been sapped away from her body. She died not long after, and Pinako couldn't bear the thought of those two boys living in that large house alone. She took them in, and raised them with her granddaughter. Stubborn and broken as they were, she grew attached. Began to think of them as her own grandsons. Protected their hearts and bodies when the Ishvalans raided, attempted to shield their eyes and minds when the news about her son and daughter-in-law came. She had to be strong for them if no one else could. Only when she saw Winry fall asleep in both of the boys arms with tear-stained cheeks did she allow herself to break. And grieve.

It was relatively peaceful for the next three years until a dangerous storm hit the area and broke open one of the dams. Somehow, she'd managed to lose the boys then, and she was too old to be chasing after them.

She almost lost all her sanity when they reappeared a few hours later completely drenched and held by the scruffs of their necks by a tall woman with dark hair and a giant bear of a man. The Elrics leave with the strange couple and Pinako compensates for the silence by throwing herself into her work.

They returned a few months later looking leaner, taller, and harder. Almost every day they would go to the market and come bag with only a handful of trace items. One day, she woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. And when the boys said they were gonna pay a visit to their old house, and she watched them over the hill tripping over their accumulated bags as the sky darkened, the sick feeling intensified.

She would find out why less than an hour later when a giant suit of armor with a child's voice came to her door carrying a half-dead eleven year old.

After watching Ed go through the automail surgery and power through the recovery within a year, she started to wonder if he was even human.

If she didn't already hate the military for taking her son and daughter-in-law away from her, she certainly did after Ed came home with the state alchemist pocket watch. Taking advantage of a child's traumas to use them as a human weapon was completely despicable.

She didn't want them to leave again, but she knew she couldn't stop them. They were Trisha's kids after all; stubborn to a fault, and too selfless for their own good. Even killing them wouldn't stop them. So she let them go, and watched with a stone face as they set a torch to their old home. All their experiences, mementos, their entire childhood, all gone to ashes. And she could do nothing but stare as her granddaughter burst into tears and Ed's face flickered through the flames, his golden eyes steely. He looked tired and aged, almost in direct contrast with his own father, who was forever young.

It had been 10 years since that day, and she was still haunted by it. The young man in front of her had grown up since then. He was almost a completely different person, but also not. No longer an alchemist, but still constantly thirsting for knowledge. Not fighting for his life, but still an explorer at heart. But he wasn't troubled anymore. Wasn't pressured. Everything he did, he did on his own terms. Looking at the two graves in front of her, she knew his parents would be just as proud of him as she was.

"Hey Granny, I was thinking," Ed said.

"About?"

"Well, our apartment in Rush Valley isn't very big, especially with two adults and a toddler, but it's only gonna get more cramped once the baby's born. And I know Winry wants to carry on your legacy."

"What are you trying to say, Ed?" she asked impatiently.

"What I'm trying to say is that there used to be a house on that hill," he pointed to the ruins of his old house. "Maybe there can be another one."

She stared at the boy, now a man, in wonder.

"Yes, I suppose there can," she mumbled.

She reflected on that conversation later that night as she wrote appointments in her planner. She couldn't stop herself from gasping lightly as she turned to the page for today's date.

_October 3, 1921._


End file.
